Art Davidson: Matsuzaka answers call with arm, bat

Sunday

Oct 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2007 at 1:21 PM

DENVER - When the World Series shifted to Denver, the Red Sox were supposedly at a disadvantage. One of Boston's premier's hitters would have to sit because no designated hitter would be employed and some predicted that the thin air would have a negative impact on Daisuke Matsuzaka's breaking pitches. When Kaz Matsui opened the game with a hit it send the towel-waving throng at Coors Field into a frenzied state. By tonight, though, those towels could be put away for the winter.

Art Davidson/Daily News staff

When the World Series shifted to Denver, the Red Sox were supposedly at a disadvantage. One of Boston's premier's hitters would have to sit because no designated hitter would be employed and some predicted that the thin air would have a negative impact on Daisuke Matsuzaka's breaking pitches.

When Kaz Matsui opened the game with a hit it send the towel-waving throng at Coors Field into a frenzied state. By tonight, though, those towels could be put away for the winter.

It might be a little premature to start lining up the duck boats, but it seems likely there will be a parade in Boston this week.

Not only did Matsuzaka pitch his best game of the postseason, his first major league hit produced two runs in Boston's six-run rally in the third inning.

Matsuzaka pitching and hitting helped the Red Sox forge a 6-0 lead. The complexion of the game changed in the closing innings, but Boston was able to pull away for a 10-5 victory in the third game of the World Series last night, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

A victory by Boston tonight will earn for Red Sox Nation its second World Series title in four years and will give the club the distinction of being the first club to win two championships this century.

The Red Sox had already scored three runs off Josh Fogg in the third inning when Matsuzaka batted with the bases loaded. There was nothing to indicate that Matsuzaka was capable of any offensive heroics. He was 0-for-4 at the plate in interleague games during the regular season and had struck out meekly in the previous inning.

Instead of going through the motions at the plate, Matsuzaka lined a crisp single into left field to increase Boston's advantage to 5-0. By the time he took the mound in the bottom of the third, the Red Sox' edge was a touchdown.

Because there was no DH, David Ortiz started at first base in place of Kevin Youkilis, who returned to first base in the sixth inning. The change in the lineup promoted Red Sox manager Terry Francona to move Jacoby Ellsbury into the lead-off spot. The rookie responded by getting hits in his first three at-bats, which included a pair of third-inning doubles. Ellsbury became only the second player overall and the first rookie to hit two doubles in the same World Series game.

There are some concerns about how bad traffic might be in Denver tomorrow night. The fifth game of the World Series is slated for Coors Field and four miles away the Denver Broncos are scheduled to host the Green Bay Packers. Maybe some of those traffic problems will be reduced. The Broncos will definitely be playing tomorrow, and the Rockies might get to watch the game.

What made last night truly special for Matsuzaka, though, was how he handled those who stepped to the plate against him. As the postseason has progressed Matsuzaka has gotten better. In his first two playoff outings, Matsuzaka earned a no-decision and a loss against Los Angeles and Cleveland, respectively, and didn't pitch well in either game. In last Sunday's seventh game of the American League Championship Series, Matsuzaka earned the victory by limiting the Indians to two runs and six hits in five innings.

Last night, the rookie from Japan was even more effective. He permitted two runs and three hits in a 5 1/3 innings. He issued three walks and struck out five.

Two of his walks came in succession in the sixth inning, which promoted Francona to summon Javier Lopez from the bullpen. Lopez helped wake up the crowd by giving up back-to-back RBI singles, which caused a pair of runs to be charged to Matsuzaka. The combination of Mike Timlin's relief effort and a leaping catch by Julio Lugo prevented the Rockies from further reducing Boston's advantage in the sixth.

The only way Matsuzaka will likely pitch again is if the World Series reaches a seventh game. In other words, Matsuzaka's season is probably over. The same can be said for the Rockies.

(Art Davidson is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-4403 or adavidson@cnc.com.)